Court rules on Chile and Peru border

THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) has established a maritime border between Peru and Chile after a protracted dispute centring on 38,000 square kilometres of lucrative fishing grounds.

The UN court's verdict, read out by its president, Peter Tomka, is considered a compromise between the two countries' positions on how the border should be delineated, and significantly enlarges Peru's sovereignty over waters previously held by Chile.

The first 80 nautical miles of the newly delineated border run parallel to the latitude of the Peru-Chile border, while the remaining border extends to the south west in an equal distance from both coasts.

Peru, which asked the ICJ to rule on the dispute in 2008, had argued that the border should be drawn perpendicular to the coast, while Chile insisted it should be horizontal to the earth's axis.

The Peruvian government estimates its fishing industry makes $US200 million ($A229 million) in annual revenues from the disputed fishing grounds.

The disagreement has escalated into a matter of national pride in recent weeks. However, presidents Ollanta Humala of Peru and Sebastian Pinera of Chile have repeatedly confirmed that they will respect the ICJ verdict no matter the outcome.